The Magazine, a Canadian kids magazine, has published an interview with Tokio Hotel. They talk about their early career, life on tour and what they do in their spare time!

“Let’s Take Hotel” Tokio Hotel Talks

Since releasing their first English album, ‘Scream’, German band Tokio Hotel has been taking North America by storm. We caught up with the guys recent; to talk music, touring and more!

How did you guys get started as a group? Bill: We played in a lot of nightclubs and at weddings and we met Georg and Gustav in the audience. I think there were five people and two of them were Georg and Gustav… They came and asked if they could play in our band. We went to the rehearsal room and tried, and it was the beginning of Devilish. That was our fifth band name.

Is there a meaning behind your current band name? B: We are all city people, so we came up with “Tokio”. We’ve never been there… It’s like a dream to play a concert in Tokyo. Then we said okay we need a symbol… and it was always a dream to travel the world and sleep in hotels, so we said let’s take “Hotel”.

‘Scream’ is your first album recorded in English. Was it hard to record a crossover album? B: For me, it was really a challenge because… we just speak some words and we learned English in school, and I always sung in German. We said, okay we really want [it] so everyone can understand our lyrics. And the studio takes some time because I’m such a perfectionist and I really wanted it to sound natural, not like a German who tried to sing in English.

What do you like and dislike about touring? B: Being on a promotional tour… it’s a lot of interviews and TV shows. That’s also okay, but playing live is just… yeah, more fun. The negative side of being on tour is you have not that much time for girls!

What has been your favourite stop since touring? B: Hard to say… but I think I really love the big cities, so I really love Paris and Moscow. No, I think there are so many nice places in Europe. But, I also love New York, and I love Toronto. It’s a nice city.

Have you had any embarrassing moments while performing? B: Georg always has embarrassing moments! No, I think yeah, there are some moments… I pushed my mike into my mouth… Gustav fell down from his chair. We were on the catwalk; it was in Russia, and we just jumped on the catwalk, and the whole catwalk jumped with us. It was like moving all around… It was like surfing.

What do you do in your spare time? B: Most of the time, we sleep! I think we are the tiredest band in the world. On the tour bus, we have a lot of DVDs; I think two hundred DVDs and movies. Most of the time, not really interesting things. Just the opposite of our Tokio Hotel life.

Yam.de has posted an article about Tokio Hotel and the MTV VMAs. They say that Tokio Hotel still have a chance to win a VMA, but you all have to vote!

In September, one of the hottest music events of all time takes place again. The MTV Video Awards will occur. Top acts like the Jonas Bothers perform on stage it will and it will bring some prizes. If everything runs well, Tokio Hotel can also swipe the international prize.

Now, MTV has listed all possibilities in the “Best Pop Video” categoriy. The pre-voting decides who will make the nomination list in the end. Up to now, the trend goes against Bill, Tom, Gustav, and Georg.

Under the most viewed videos, Monsoon is not in the top 20 on the nomination list. Here, up to now, Jordin Sparks, Mariah Carey, and Chris Brown dominate. At the beginning of August it will be certain which acts made it into the nominations list.

Here, you can vote for Tokio Hotel (unfortunately, only by logging in).

In a recent interview with Vi Unge, a Danish youth magazine, Tokio Hotel reveals they will be coming back to Denmark sometime soon! After canceling their concert earlier this year and not being able to reschedule it this summer, they are hoping to go there as soon as possible.

-We will come to Denmark!

In the spring you had to cancel a lot of concerts, because Bill had to be operated for a cyst on the vocal chords. Now you are back on the track. How does it feel to be back?Bill: It is SO great to be back on stage again. I was really terrified under the whole process. Its obvious, that you get worried and thinks “What if my voice will be ruined?”, or “What if I dont sound like before”. Luckily I had a quick recover. First time I was on the stage after my surgery, it was really awesome, and I really enjoy the concerts we are playing at the moment.

What did Bills illness meant for the band?Georg: It was a situation, where the power was out of our hands. The only thing we could do, was wish him well, and then just wait.Tom: It took some time, before we actually realised we had to cancel the rest of our tour. In the beginning, when Bill went to Germany to get checked, the rest of us kept travelling from town to town, because all along we hoped he would come back.Bill: I actually think the whole experience have brought us closer together.

Were you afraid it was over for Tokio Hotel?Tom: Of course we thought about it. Especially in the beginning, were we didnt know what was wrong. But after some time, we started to think about the future, and that Bill would come back at some point. The worst we could imagine, was that I had to take over for Bill. Haha

You are currently breaking through in USA. Why is that so important for you?

Tom: To go to USA and try our luck there, is really amazing - especially for a German band. It’s really rare that happen. So of course we will take the chance when it comes, and see if we can make it over there. But its really not like we have a masterplan, on which countries we want to do make it in. It’s usually our fans, that discovers us online, and when we see there’s a lot that likes us, we go there. That’s how it works for us.

What is the craziest thing you have experienced in USA sofar?

Bill: There’s so many things, it’s hard to choose. But recently, we experienced something pretty wild in L.A We were sitting in the backstage-room after our concert, when all of the sudden, we hear a strange sound. Then we discovered it was a girl, trying to crawl through the window, on the second floor! Unfortunately, she got stuck, and then she even lost her camera. Pretty crazy.

Some of your Danish fans, feel a little disappointed over the cancelled concerts in Denmark, and that you havnt rescheduled. What would you like to say to them?Bill: We really want to say - particularly me - that we are really, really sorry we had to cancel. We really couldnt do anything else in that situation. Unfortunately, we havn’t been able to find new dates, but we promise we havn’t forgotten about them, and that we will try to come and play as soon as possible.

On the cover: The exotic style of Tokio Hotel This German band is all the hype in Europe and its four members have already started breaking hearts in our country. Are you ready to fall in love with them? You’ll surely do- By Diana Matozo

The leaders of Tokio Hotel are twin brothers Bill (lead singer) and Tom (guitar) Kaulitz. Despite the fact that they are identical twins, they have very different and distinctive personalities. They talked to our magazine (TU) about their music and they also shared some secrets of their love life with us. Find out everything about it!

TU: How do you feel now that your music is known in our country? Tom: Once we dreamt about international success but we never really thought that it would happen. People in our country know about us but crossing borders is not only amazing, it’s also weird! We’ve never been in Mexico but our music is being played there…it’s a great satisfaction. We would love to visit your country.

TU: Do you have girlfriends? How’s your ideal girl? Tom: I don’t have a girlfriend and I can’t really say that I have an ‘ideal’ girl. I can’t say that I prefer blond girls over brunettes or redheads, all I can say is that there are a lot of beautiful girls everywhere.

(Pic: ‘Georg and Gustav are a little behind on the girl topic’- Bill) TU: Is dating easier when you’re in this career? Tom: Of course music helps. In school, it’s the kids that are musicians the ones that tend to be very popular and have great success! That’s why I decided early on that I’d play guitar (laughs). No, honestly, I have never had ‘girl trouble’ and I have never used my fame to get with a girl. Bill: In my case, music has definitely helped, I had my first girlfriend when I started singing but in this business, there’s little time for a serious relationship.

TU: Who’s your favorite (female) singer or actress? Tom: I love Jessica Alba, she’s my favorite! Bill: For me, it has to be Nena, the German singer, I was very influenced by her. I saw one of her concerts on TV and it was a moment that left a mark on me. I was very young and right after that, I started writing my own songs. It was clear to me that I had to be on a stage one day. TU: Being twins, have you ever tried making a move on the same girl? Tom: I had a girlfriend and when we broke up, I tried to talk her into giving my brother his first kiss. I wanted him to live that experience because (until then) Bill had never had a girlfriend. It was a way of showing how much I cared.

TU: Is there a message behind your look? Tom: We have never wanted to create a fake image. This is part of our personality, this is what we feel, this is who we are. If you see pictures of us before being a band, you would see that the change hasn’t really been a drastic one.

TU: Would you get a girlfriend’s name tattooed? Tom: If the relationship isn’t serious, I don’t think I would, I don’t think it’s worth it (laughs); if it were something a little more serious…I don’t think I’d do it either! I am not a big fan of tattoos. Bill: I love tattoos! And if I were really in love, why not? I think I would do it.

TU: Are you guys faithful (when in a relationship)? Tom: When you are in love, it’s important to be faithful and feel that the other person is being faithful too, it’s basic. Bill: For me, this is something fundamental. Besides, if I am in love, I don’t really feel like accepting any other ‘offers’. With me, you don’t have to worry about cheating, I believe in being faithful and that’s what I practice but… I haven’t really been with a girl for quite some time now.

TU: How do you feel about your fans getting so crazy sometimes? Bill: We’re really proud of the fans that we have, they support us so much, they are always waiting for our concerts, they sing our songs, they have an amazing level of energy and that’s contagious. They make us feel the need to continue doing what we are doing.

(We love to see all the fan signs and banners at our concerts!)

What every fan should know:

*They were born in Magdeburg, Germany. There they are listed as part of the ‘Town’s Most Beloved Sons’. *Tom is older than Bill…10 minutes older only! *When they were little kids, the twins would wear t-shirts with their names on them so that people wouldn’t get confused. *These brothers have a philosophy in life: ‘Follow your dreams’ *Gustav started playing drums when he was only 4 years old! *Georg is a Fall Out Boy and Green Day fan *When they recorded their first album, two of them were just 13 (Bill and Tom)

-The motto of Rock in Rio is 'For a better world'.What would you do to make the world a better place? -Bill:That is a really difficult question and it can´t be answered with only one sentence.There´s always a lot of things that can be done to make the world better.A festival like this is a good first step and participating in it as musicians too.

-How was yesterday´s concert in Barcelona? -Bill:We are verey pleased with our spanish fans.Last night we played there and it was a beautiful concert.We have a very good feeling with our spanish fans.

-Have you ever been afraid of reaching success at such a young age? -Tom:There are things that happen to us that we still can´t believe,like been able to perform at Rock in Rio.It´s true that we´re having success,we know we´ve had a lot of luck and sometimes we´ve needed time to assume all this. -Are you always dressed up like that? -Tom:We´d love to be able to always dress like this,but what happens is that we can´t anymore.When we went to school we did dress like this because it´s our style,but now it would be a little uncomfortable to go outside like this because everybody would recognise us.

FULLY RECOVERED -Bill,how are you feeling after the operation?Have you noticed any change in your voice? -Bill:No,and i´m really happy.Now finally i can say that everything is like before,which was the aim of the operation.It is true that it was a specially low time in our career and also personally i was deeply touched.The worst was that we we´re very sorry for all our fans for all the concerts we had to cancell.A vocalist is always afraid of being operated(?) on the voice,but fortunately,now i can say i´m fully recovered.

-Yesterday a concert in Barcelona,today in Madrid,tomorrow in Lisboa...How do you keep up with such an intense pace? -Bill:Good,cause we are addicted to work,we´ve been nearly 3 years,almost without stopping. We only rest for two weeks a year,but it´s what we wanted,what we like. -Tom:We arrange our agenda,we decide when and where we perform...no one decides it for us.Obviously,there´s times when you think you can´t take it anymore,there´s days when we are in 3 different citys and sometimes you don´t even know where you get up...but it´s something that fills us.

-What do you think of the fan phenomena that follows you?Are you aware that one day this may be over? -Bill:Yes,of course,but you have to know that we also started as a small group and only 4 or 5 persons would go to watch us perform,so we know what is like not having success,that´s why we appreciate what we have.Bad times can always arrive,like in every job,but we hope this lasts for a long time.

-Do you know the Jonas Brothers? -Tom:Yes,we´ve heard of them,specially when we went to the US,were they are very famous. -Bill:Now they´re starting to be famous in Europe.And that is something that we have in common with them,cause we are starting in the US.Musically we don´t know them very well.

-You guys are rich,single,famous...Do you have any whises left? -Bill:(I can´t see what is written there)...a lot because success hooks you,it´s like a drug,you always want more,more concerts,more tours...and you want to do better each time.And about being single,it has to be clear,that we are all single.(laughs)

-So,is it not true then that Bill is with a spanish girl? -Bill:No,it´s no true,i´ve been 3 years alone now.There are so many things said about us which aren´t true...like that we are 'little multimillionaires'. Evelyn@thustranslating: EdurneTH@thus